Question

Who was the last Mughal Emperor?

Answer 1

Bahadur Shah Zafar was the last Mughal Emperor of India. He was born on 24 October 1775 in Delhi to the Mughal Emperor Akbar Shah II and Lal Bai. Bahadur Shah was his parents’second son. His birth name was Abu Zafar Sirajuddin Muhammad Bahadur Shah. He was not his father’s first choice as successor.

Facts on Bahadur Shah Zafar

• He was 62 years old when he became king.
• Shah was only a nominal ruler as the once-mighty Mughal Empire had by then disintegrated and weakened.
• The Mughal Emperor ruled only over the city of Delhi.
• Many areas in the Deccan previously were under the Mughals were now part of the Maratha Empire.
• The East India Company was becoming the dominant political power in the subcontinent.
• Many regions which were part of the Mughal Empire had also declared independence from the Mughals.
• The Company had given the Mughal Emperor a pension and the authority to collect taxes in Delhi.
• Zafar was a Sufi and was even regarded as a Sufi Pir.
• He was a tolerant king and even states in one of his verses that both Hinduism and Islam had the same essence.
• Bahadur Shah is most remembered as the last Mughal Emperor in India, and for his role in the Indian Revolt of 1857.